The number of people accessing the internet has continued to increase, making it important for every business to have a presence online. Many people will always go online when trying to find out more about a given product or business. This has made it important for businesses to invest in a website. A good website will prove to be an effective tool in branding and marketing. The good part is that building a website is not that expensive. With the right web design company, you will be able to have a great website for your business. Why do you need to have a business website?
The customers expect it

Your customers will be expecting you to have an online presence. This is where they get to learn more about your business and the products and service being offered. If a customer does not find you online, there is a good chance he/she will visit a competitor, even if you were the favorite. This trend is set to continue, and the fact that more and more people are going online to find out more about business and the products they offer. This is your chance to give them more information and convert them into buying customers.
Providing social proof

About ninety percent of consumers claim that online reviews had an influence on their decision to buy. You can leave up to reviews sites such as Yelp, FourSquare, and others to host the reviews, but you can also do it on your site. Since the prospective customers are trying to find more information about your business, add testimonials to your site in order to impress them.

Controlling the narrative

It is hard to control what people are saying about you on social media, but you have the chance of creating your own story using your site, which can help in influencing public perception. A blog will help you in getting your message, mission, and personality to your audience much easier.

Credibility

Having a website gives your business a sense of credibility. This is why it is a good idea to hire a web designer who is experienced in creating a website that is able to convey this message. The website should be working to convince the customers to choose your business. The visitor will have a great experience when visiting your website whether they are doing it from the computer or from a mobile device.
Helps with ranking

Many people will do a search before making a purchase. They type in the one or more keywords then search to see results. If you don’t have a website, then there is no way you are going to show up on the search engine results page. If you have a website that has been properly optimized, then you will have a chance to appear on the first page of search engine results. This will result in more visibility with potential customers. This is why it is a good idea to work with a web designer who knows SEO.
A website is always accessible

Your location might not be open 24 hours a day, but your website can be accessed at any time of the day 365 days a year. This means the customers have the chance to find out more about the products and services your business is providing even if the store is closed. There are add-ons that can be added to the website so that the visitors can sign up, schedule appointments, ask questions, and even make purchases directly. You will then fulfill the order when you open. This is a great selling point.
A chance to target a wider audience

Your website can be accessed from any part of the world. This means you have the chance to target customers even in the most remote places. This means that the website is providing you with an alternative location to sell your products or services. You will not be limited to a small geographical location, you can sell to anyone providing there is shipping. This is what has helped many companies grow more easily. You don’t have to risk anything when trying to expand.
Having a website is important for any business owners serious about growing their business and branding. To have one built contact Muu Web Design as they have built hundreds of website for all types of niches and industries.

It is quite saddening how a lot of people label themselves as web designers but are not even knowledgeable with manual coding of CSS and HTML. This is a big irony, considering how coding CSS and HTML is expected to be part of the skill set of web designers.

The truth is it is not really difficult to master how to write cascading style sheets. But, things could get very daunting if you will use it for a big project without adhering to a defined approach every time you write the code.

Improving your new CSS codes for readability, maintainability, and speed can give you lots of benefits in the long run, whether you are designing your own website or others’ websites.

Below are some useful tips on how you can write easy to manage new CSS codes:

Stick with Useful Naming Conventions

See to it that the names you give your IDs and classes all make sense. You have to ensure that they are generic but not too specific, semantic, or general. Stick with names that are consistent and versatile. You have to remember and consider the possibility of the need for editing in the future. Write your new CSS codes in such a way that you will not blame yourself in the future for not being able to understand and read your own codes. Name classes and elements for the specific functions they serve and not for the way they will look on your web page.

Keep Your Codes Organized

It is one of the most important steps when writing elegant CSS codes. You should keep your codes simple and clean, including the comments. Each element in your CSS style sheet code must be semantically organized and written. You have to use a coherent structure and not just drop in attributes, classes, and IDs every time these come into your mind. A good tip to remember when you write attributes for your classes is to have them written in alphabetical order. One more way is to write these in sections where you group together similar elements.

Group Elements with the Same Properties

Instead of repetitive declaring of styles, it is best to group the ones that are virtually similar. It could be very useful when you design the typography of your website with the use of CSS codes.

Reduce the Style Sheet Size

It will not just help in improving loading speeds as it is also a good way of getting rid of the clutter from your CSS codes. With this, your codes are going to be easier to update and remove. Get rid of the unnecessary bits of code. A good example is not to specify a unit of measure if the value is zero. When the border size has been set to zero, instead of writing this as 0em or 0px, you can simply write 0. After all, one of the most integral aspects of website design is creating pages which can load fast.

Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich signed a law that requires companies bidding for state work to disclose any outsourcing plans. The state will then decide which companies will get contracts, and have the power to end contracts if companies outsource more than they disclosed.

Under the law, companies bidding on contracts are required to submit a report with any outsourcing information to the Department of Central Management Services. It was noted that companies that practice outsourcing would not be automatically banned from getting work. The law will take effect on July 1.

Senator Carol Ronen proposed the legislation because companies are increasingly shipping jobs to foreign countries. Ronen said, [This is] an important first step to keep jobs in this state and in this country. Another sponsor, Representative Harry Osterman, said that the law shows Chicago’s commitment to fight outsourcing. Osterman adds, One bit of leverage we have is that as a state with a large budget, how we spend our money is important.”

Tod Maisch, spokesman for the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, said that business are pleased with the law. He said, we’re pleased that the Legislature took a careful look at an emotional issue and crafted a piece of legislation that employers can live with.”